Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced $6.5 million in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to help replace damaged and destroyed apartment complexes in Rockport, one of the coastal cities hardest hit by Hurricane Harvey. The money is being awarded by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) from $57.8 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CDBG-DR funds designated for previous events and held back in the case of an event in 2017. When Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Commissioner Bush made a request to HUD to release the allocation of funds. $10 million of the allocation was set aside for multifamily housing in the Coastal Bend.
"The GLO is moving forward as quickly as possible to help those displaced by Hurricane Harvey come back home to Rockport," said Commissioner Bush. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to expedite federal housing and infrastructure funds to help Texans recover and rebuild stronger."
The $6.5 million will fund two large multifamily housing developments:
- $1.5 million to rehabilitate 48 apartments in the Oak Harbor Apartments
- $5 million to reconstruct 50 apartments in the Salt Grass Apartments
To deliver financial support to the hardest hit communities as fast as possible, the GLO created a 5-day application window for the $10 million in funding, available to Aransas, Refugio and Nueces Counties. Those applicants who applied within the 5-day window received prioritization with remaining dollars available for an extended application period beyond the five days. The remaining funds will be awarded soon.
About GLO Community Development and Revitalization (CDR)
In addition to short-term housing in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the CDR division of the Texas General Land Office administers the Housing and Urban Development CDBG-DR on behalf of the state of Texas. More than $9 billion have been allocated for recovery following Hurricanes Rita, Dolly, and Ike, the 2011 wildfires, the 2015 and 2016 floods and Hurricane Harvey. These grants can be used for a wide variety of activities including housing redevelopment, infrastructure repair and long-term planning. For more information, please visit
TexasRebuilds.org.
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